Stanley High Intensity Spotlight Review

A while back Stanley sent me a set of lights to test out, includingthe Bar Flex worklight (review at http://www.boats.com/boat-content/2010/02/night-ops-stanley-bar-flex-light/) and the octopus-base Squidbrite (at http://www.boats.com/boat-content/2010/01/bright-idea-a-nifty-new-work-light/) and the subject of today’s review, the High Intensity Spotlight.
The cool thing about all of these lights is that they’re all rechargeable, and they come with wall and cigarette [...]

The cool thing about all of these lights is that they’re all rechargeable, and they come with wall and cigarette lighter plugs, so you can charge ‘em up at home or plug ‘em in on the boat. When I fired up the High Intensity Spotlight to test it out for the first time, I discovered it’s aptly named – this thing is BRIGHT. Like, REALLY BRIGHT. They say it’s 4,200 lumens and I don’t have any way to numerically validate the claim, but I can tell you that the beam cuts through the darkness well enough to get a reflection off of a channel marker at 100 yards or more. I’d compare it to a single car’s headlight, set at high-beam. The 45 minute burn-time isn’t great, but most rechargeable spotlights have even loss because it takes a heck of a lot of power to keep up a beam this strong. The down-side? Carrying enough juice to burn for this amount of time takes battery power, and battery power takes weight. Lots of it. So the Stanley is heavy; it weighs about two pounds and actually tired my arm out when I tried to hold it at arm’s length for more then a few minutes.

The spotlight costs between $80 and $100 depending on where you’re looking, and it’s available from plenty of web sites including Amazon.com and Buy.com. If you want a super-bright spot that’s rechargeable and you don’t mind swinging a heavyweight, this is one you’ll want to check out.

The Stanley High Intensity Spotlight is, in fact, intense… but it's also very heavy.

Lenny Rudow

Profile

Lenny Rudow is Senior Editor for Dominion Marine Media, including boats.com and YachtWorld. With over two decades of experience in marine journalism, he has contributed to publications including Boating Magazine, Marlin Magazine, Boating World, Saltwater Sportsman, Texas Fish & Game, and many others. Lenny is a graduate of the Westlawn School of Yacht Design, and he has won numerous BWI and OWAA writing awards.

Stanley High Intensity Spotlight Review

A while back Stanley sent me a set of lights to test out, includingthe Bar Flex worklight (review at http://www.boats.com/boat-content/2010/02/night-ops-stanley-bar-flex-light/) and the octopus-base Squidbrite (at http://www.boats.com/boat-content/2010/01/bright-idea-a-nifty-new-work-light/) and the subject of today’s review, the High Intensity Spotlight.
The cool thing about all of these lights is that they’re all rechargeable, and they come with wall and cigarette [...]

The cool thing about all of these lights is that they’re all rechargeable, and they come with wall and cigarette lighter plugs, so you can charge ‘em up at home or plug ‘em in on the boat. When I fired up the High Intensity Spotlight to test it out for the first time, I discovered it’s aptly named – this thing is BRIGHT. Like, REALLY BRIGHT. They say it’s 4,200 lumens and I don’t have any way to numerically validate the claim, but I can tell you that the beam cuts through the darkness well enough to get a reflection off of a channel marker at 100 yards or more. I’d compare it to a single car’s headlight, set at high-beam. The 45 minute burn-time isn’t great, but most rechargeable spotlights have even loss because it takes a heck of a lot of power to keep up a beam this strong. The down-side? Carrying enough juice to burn for this amount of time takes battery power, and battery power takes weight. Lots of it. So the Stanley is heavy; it weighs about two pounds and actually tired my arm out when I tried to hold it at arm’s length for more then a few minutes.

The spotlight costs between $80 and $100 depending on where you’re looking, and it’s available from plenty of web sites including Amazon.com and Buy.com. If you want a super-bright spot that’s rechargeable and you don’t mind swinging a heavyweight, this is one you’ll want to check out.

The Stanley High Intensity Spotlight is, in fact, intense… but it's also very heavy.

Lenny Rudow

Profile

Lenny Rudow is Senior Editor for Dominion Marine Media, including boats.com and YachtWorld. With over two decades of experience in marine journalism, he has contributed to publications including Boating Magazine, Marlin Magazine, Boating World, Saltwater Sportsman, Texas Fish & Game, and many others. Lenny is a graduate of the Westlawn School of Yacht Design, and he has won numerous BWI and OWAA writing awards.